Legacy 1x08: Pieces of Eight
by Lady Dawson
Summary: Complete. Susan's cousin Alex comes to town with news that his charge is in trouble. She is the guardian of one of eight amulets that, if bound together, could create a demon that could bring forth the end of the world. And only one person can stop it.
1. Stolen Amulets

**Legacy: Pieces of Eight**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter One: Stolen Amulets

Chris Halliwell stifled a yawn behind his hand as he scribbled down notes during his history lecture, trying not to appear exhausted and failing miserably. It probably would've been a good idea to skip classes and get some sleep after an all-nighter demon hunt, but considering he could only have two unexplained absences, he decided that it wasn't worth it.

After the last incident with his girlfriend Susan Dawson's father, Peter Connelly, things had been relatively quiet, just a few stray demons that had no connection whatsoever with their archenemy. Whether or not this was a good sign, Chris didn't know, but they hadn't really had any new sightings of the dark witch. Bobby had even contacted them once and said that they were lying low for awhile, after they had stopped the demon from taking over Neverland and Bianca, Chris's demonic ex-girlfriend, hadn't returned.

Personally, Chris didn't think she was out of the picture just yet, but she definitely wasn't getting out of that dimension they'd sent her to anytime soon, so he wasn't going to worry about it for awhile.

Glancing up as the lecture ended, Chris gathered up his belongings and silently cursed himself for taking all morning classes as he slung his bag onto his shoulder, heading out onto campus towards the parking lot to head back to the apartment. Undoubtedly, there was probably some new demon to be taken care of.

"Hey, Chris." Susan appeared from behind him, her blue eyes sparkling as she grinned up at him, slipping her arm around his. "You look about as tired as I feel," she commented, glancing up at him as Chris grinned at her. "Why is it that demons have no respect for our schedules? Don't they realise that we have lives to live, too?"

"I doubt it," Chris said, laughing as they walked together. "See any new ones hanging around?"

"None whatsoever, but your big brother and my best friend are currently in the apartment 'together,'" she said, air quoting the last word. "So I'd say that we'd better stay clear of there for the time being. I really don't want to have to listen to that again."

"How do you know that—"

"Because Brooke was not in the last lecture and when I called my apartment to see if she was running late, Wyatt answered the phone and said that she was a little busy with something," Susan answered, rolling her eyes. "And he had that tone in his voice whenever they do something dirty."

"Get your mind out of the gutter, missy," Chris reprimanded with a shudder. "Well, that throws going home and getting some sleep out of the window. Want to go grab something to eat?"

"Sure." Susan shook her head as he took her books out of her hand. "Where did you learn how to be such a gentleman, anyway?"

"Mom," Chris said with a grin. "Being raised around a mother, two aunts, and five girl cousins pretty much makes a guy act like a gentleman when he's around beautiful girls." Susan chuckled just as a motorcycle pulled onto the curb next to them and the driver glanced towards her.

"Right, because they pretty much put you in your place and taught you everything that you need to know to be around us women," Susan said, still laughing. "Remind me to send them a thank you card." Chris shook his head as the driver of the motorcycle climbed off and turned towards them.

"Hey," he called. Chris glanced at him and Susan turned around, frowning slightly as she glanced at Chris, but she seemed to realise that his attention was focused on her, even though they couldn't see the driver with his dark helmet covering his face.

"Hi," she said uneasily, her hands drifting towards her pocket, where potions were usually stored.

"Oh, you really don't need any of those, Susie," he commented. Chris cocked an eyebrow at the use of the detested nickname, glancing towards his girlfriend, whose eyes were narrowed as he pulled off his helmet, revealing a guy a couple of years older than they were, probably around Wyatt's age.

"Alex!" Susan exclaimed, looking thrilled to see him as she ran over to him. The guy grinned and scooped her up into a tight hug as she laughed. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm here to see my baby cousin," Alex said, grinning at her. "And to see how your new life is going. Seems like it's doing pretty good," he added, glancing towards Chris. "Hi, I'm Alex Dawson."

Susan looked to Chris and waved him over. "Relax, he's my cousin, Chris," Susan said, still looking thrilled to see him. She looked towards Alex. "This is my boyfriend Chris Halliwell."

"Pleasure to meet you," Chris said, shaking Alex's hand as he gave his cousin a dubious look.

"Yeah, you too," Alex said before looking towards his cousin, giving her an incredulous look, eyebrows raised. "Boyfriend?" he echoed and Susan smiled weakly. "Well, I guess that means that I lost that bet with Marie. I was sure that you weren't gonna meet a guy until you were, like, thirty or something."

"My own cousins were betting on how my love life turned out?" Susan demanded. "You guys really need to find a new hobby." She shook her head. "How is Marie, anyway? How are Uncle Teddy and Mark?"

"They're good." Alex glanced sideways at Chris before returning his attention to his cousin. "So . . . can we talk openly in present company?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Susan told him as Chris blinked in confusion. "He's a witch, too, don't worry."

"Oh." Alex looked at him and comprehension dawned on him. "OH! You mean he's _that_ Halliwell?" Susan nodded once and Chris grinned, noticing the similarity between the cousins. "Okay, well, I am here to see you, but I'm also here because one of my charges is in trouble."

"You have charges?" Chris asked, incredulous. He had been under the impression that the Dawsons weren't exactly the most Whitelighter-friendly. It had taken Susan awhile to accept Brandon as her Whitelighter, in any case.

"Alex is my mom's older brother's kid," Susan explained. "So, he got the Whitelighter gig, just not the witch one."

"Lucky me," Alex mumbled and Chris chuckled. "I think that Marie had the smart idea with telling the Elders to go—"

"Alexander Theodore Dawson!" Susan said sharply, looking appalled.

"What?" Alex grinned at her. "All right, all right, I'll get to the point. One of my charges is here in San Francisco. You remember Candace?"

"Candace . . . Candace . . ." Susan frowned slightly, her face pensive. "Um . . . wasn't she the witch with the power to shape-shift into animals?" Alex nodded. "Right, you had trouble with her because she grew up in foster homes and all of sudden she became a super-powerful witch who was supposed to guard some amulet or something."

"Exactly," Alex said, looking towards Chris now. "Candace was one of eight guardians, meant to protect one of eight different amulets. Well, she contacted me yesterday to tell me that one of the other guardians, Natasha, was killed two days ago. And apparently the amulet was taken from her."

Chris looked at Alex quickly before turning his attention to Susan, whose face was transfixed on her cousin. When she looked at him, she said in a relatively calm voice, "Survey says . . .?"

"Demons," Chris answered with a nod.

--

Peter Connelly stared down at the glittering amulet in his hand as it radiated blue lights from where it hung. Standing up, he retrieved the key to his safe, opening it up and pulling out a velvet box, laying it on his desk carefully as he opened it up.

Four amulets, almost identical to the one that he now held, lay in the box, gleaming indigo, red, yellow, and green lights respectively. Looking down at the five amulets, Peter placed the blue one in its proper place in the box. "Five down," he murmured softly, "and two to go."

Lifting the box back into the safe, Peter locked the safe securely just as the door opened and his wife Deidre entered, her short blonde hair pinned up as she pulled her evening coat off.

"Here you go," she said sharply, tossing a file onto his desk. Peter glanced at it, then at her, eyebrows raised and she sighed impatiently. "It's all there, husband. Everything that you need to find out what you want. But I have to say that you probably aren't going to be getting any information from them. The Oracles are very fickle on who they give out information to."

"Don't worry about me, wife," Peter said carelessly. "If they don't want to give me what I want, then I'll have to find other means of persuasion." He took a swig from his drink as he picked up the file, glancing at its contents half-heartedly. "Although, that would be fun in itself. Don't wait up," he added, looking at her sideways as he picked up his coat and left.

Deidre sighed as she looked towards her husband, shaking her head as she turned and jumped, startled to find her son standing in the doorway. "Bobby, you have got to stop sneaking around in the shadows," she scolded, though she knew that he wouldn't. The boy was seventeen years old, not a child any longer. Maybe not quite a man, but no longer a mere child.

"Sorry," he said quietly as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "What's Dad going to the Oracles for?"

"It doesn't matter," she said indifferently. "It doesn't concern you, sweetheart, you don't need to worry about it."

Bobby lifted his head to stare at her and she looked away from him, unable to hold her son's gaze. How she and Peter were able to create such a son was beyond her. Peter was the paragon of everything that was corrupted and evil. Deirdre was the poster woman of weakness, helplessness, and fear. And Bobby . . . he was so good and pure and innocent . . . she didn't know what she would do if he became corrupted life his father.

"Mom, it does matter," he said firmly, "because if this is something that is going to affect my sister . . ." She looked up as he said those two words. " . . . then I need to know." His eyes, focused on hers, were filled with pleading and determination. He wouldn't find out one way or another and without would only put his life in danger . . . and Susan's.

Deirdre stared at her son for a long moment before she began to tell him. Bobby's eyes became wider with every word and by the time that she was done, he had already left, doubtlessly to warn his sister of the impending doom that was now upon them.

"The frightening part about all of this is," she murmured, with no one to overhear her. "Everything does depend on him, for better or worse." It was terrifying to her that, depending on the choices he made, her son would either doom them all . . . or be their salvation.

**--Opening Credits--**

Title song: "Chariot" by Gavin Degraw

Drew Fuller as Chris Halliwell

Wes Ramsey as Wyatt Halliwell

Michelle Trachtenberg as Susan Dawson

Anne Hathaway as Brooke Murphy

Hayden Christensen as Brandon James

and Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Connelly


	2. Candace

**Legacy: Pieces of Eight**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Two: Candace

"So, this is where Candace was supposed to be hiding out at?" Susan asked as she pushed open the door to a condemned apartment building. "You know, she should probably think about going someplace that was a little bit more crowded. This one just screams 'demons, here I am, come attack me!'" She shook her head as Alex glared at her. "Well, it does."

"Maybe so, but she's just trying to lay low for awhile, until this danger has passed. The last time that demons were after her amulet, it nearly got her killed, remember?" Climbing up the broken stairs, Alex glanced towards his cousin. "So, uh . . . what exactly is the story with your boyfriend, anyway?" he wanted to know. "How'd you two hit it off?"

"He's my next door neighbour, we met when Brooke and I moved in, end of story," Susan answered absently as she carefully climbed up the stairs. Chris had volunteered to go back to the apartment and find out what the amulets were for, since Alex had no idea, and give Brooke and Wyatt the updates on what was going on. "Brooke's dating his older brother, by the way."

"Yeah, that's really going to end well, considering her history with guys," Alex said grumpily as he pushed open a door on the second level. Susan winced; she had forgotten that Alex and Brooke used to date, long before she and Ryan had been an item. Back before they even knew Brooke was a witch. "Candace? Candace, it's Alex. You here?"

"Alex?" A girl around eighteen years of age poked her head around the room, her expression of pure relief when she saw Alex standing there and she hurried to him, hugging him tightly. Alex hugged her back as she saw Susan over his shoulder and regarded her suspiciously, looking towards her Whitelighter with a curious expression.

"Candace, thank the gods you're all right!" Alex said as he pulled away from the embrace, looking her with a concerned expression. "It's okay, this is my cousin Susan. She's a witch." With a nod, Candace regarded Susan warily, but she looked at Alex trustingly. "Are you okay? That phone call you gave me had me kind of worried."

"Yeah, I know, but I had to get out of there," Candace explained. "Natasha got the warning to me just before she was taken, so I know that they were coming after me next. So, what's your gift?" she asked, looking at Susan curiously. "What can you do?"

"Weather manipulation, precognition," Susan answered, realising that she meant what powers she had. "And I've got orbing from my Whitelighter side." Candace nodded as she looked at Alex. "Okay, so what is it that this demon's after and what's the demon's name?"

"To be honest, I'm not so sure that it is a demon," Candace admitted, sighing. "I don't know what's after the guardians, but they want the amulets, that I know for sure."

"What else could it be, if it's not a demon?" Susan muttered, shaking her head tiredly. "A warlock, a dark witch?"

"Possibly." Candace started pacing back and forth across the floor. "All I know is that the amulets were never supposed to come back together. And the only reason I know that is because Alex told me. I have absolutely no idea where the amulets come from or why they even exist. The sole reason why they were kept in separate parts of the world was so that they would be kept apart, as far away from each other as possible."

"Then this Natasha wasn't from California?"

Candace shook her head. "Just visiting," she answered. "Her sister lives here with her family and Natasha was staying with her until she went back home to Massachusetts." She sighed as she sat down on the bed. "You don't know how glad I am that you guys are here. I've been sitting here for two days, just worrying that they were going to come here and kill me next." Candace gave them a weak smile that showed them just how frightened she'd been.

"Candace, you need to come with us, okay?" Alex told her. "It's not safe for you here, all by yourself. Susan, her friends, and I will protect you while we try and figure this out."

"We'll find something out," Susan assured her when Candace looked sceptical. "Believe me, I've handled worse." _Especially lately,_ she thought.

With a small sigh, Candace stood up and headed over to the corner, pulling out a small grey and white cat. "Not without Maurice," she said fiercely. Alex grinned and she pulled Candace with the cat in her arms out of the room with Susan pulling up the rear as they headed down the steps.

It was only when they were almost halfway out the door to go to her car that Susan realised that someone was in the room with them, standing just out of view. "Uh . . . why don't you guys orb back to the apartment?" she suggested, looking at her cousin. "I'll catch up."

"Why?" Alex looked at her worriedly. "What's going on?"

"I just want to go check with a contact, see if he might know anything about what's going on," Susan lied. Alex looked sceptical, but nodded as he took Candace by the arm and orbed them both out to Susan's apartment. With a small sigh, Susan walked over to her younger half-brother and hugged him tightly. "I was so worried about you?"

"Yeah, well, you worry too much, you know that?" Bobby said with a grin towards her. Susan wanted to tell him that as his older sister, she had very good reason to worry, but he was still under the impression that she knew nothing about their relationship and for the time being, she wanted to keep it that way. "But there's some things you need to know about. It's about the amulets. You know, the one that girl had?"

Immediately, Susan felt her warning bells flare up. "What do you know?" she asked anxiously.

"Not much," Bobby answered, shaking his head. "Just that Dad wants all of the amulets for some reason. He's the one that's killing the guardians. It's not just the one from Massachusetts that's been killed. There's others. At least six of them," he told her. "Maybe seven, I don't know. Either there's one or two still left and that girl Candace is one of them."

"What are the amulets for?"

Bobby shrugged. "Not a clue, but that's what we're going to find out," he said with a smile, pulling a parchment out of his pocket. "This is an incantation to speak with the Oracles."

"The Oracles?" Susan echoed, cocking an eyebrow. "Who are the Oracles, Bobby? They don't sound like they're friendly."

"Oh, I'd say they're probably not," Bobby answered as they headed out the door and into the crummy part of the city. "But they might know what the amulets are for and what Dad wants to do with them. Of course, they might just turn us into toads or something," he added weakly. Susan stared at him. "Look, they work for the Powers That Be, okay? It's not a joy ride, but we're running out of time."

"The Powers That Be, huh?" Susan sighed as they climbed into her car. "Well, we haven't got much to lose. What's the catch?"

"We're gonna have to make a little pit stop first," Bobby said with a small smile. "These Oracles, they're really picky and they're not gonna be answer any questions without us bringing some kind of gift for them. I figure a nice vase down at the antique store will probably do it."

"A gift?" Susan muttered. "It was so much easier when we just threw potions at demons and they blew up."

--

"Find anything?" Wyatt asked his brother as Chris flipped through the Book. Brooke had her nose buried in a bunch of books on amulets and other magical items from Susan's rooms while the elder Halliwell was scrying to find where the amulets were being kept at.

"You mean since you asked me two minutes ago?" Chris countered without looking up. Wyatt glared at him as he continued to hold the crystal above the map, trying—and failing miserably—to find the amulets. "Okay, it's official, you guys. There's nothing in here that even relates to witch guardians that are protecting amulets."

Wyatt looked up as orbs appeared in the kitchen, materialising into a young man with a frightened teenage girl. "Uh . . . who are you?"

"That's Susan's cousin Alex," Chris told him and Alex gave a nod of introduction to Wyatt. "And I'm assuming that this would be Candace?" he asked, directing the question towards Alex, who nodded. "Hi, I'm Chris, this is my brother Wyatt and this is Brooke."

"Hi, Brooke," Alex said with a sigh towards the telepathic nymph. Brooke only nodded, giving him a scathing look before looking away. Wyatt wondered vaguely if there was any history between the two.

"Susan's has a cousin?" he wanted to know, making sure he understood this right. "That's weird; she never talks about her family back home."

"Nah, she wouldn't, considering that her own family was pretty much stripped away from her," Alex said tiredly as he walked over to the table, sitting down. "Candace, why don't you sit down, while we figure this out?"

"You know, Alex, I would prefer it if you didn't give orders in my apartment," Brooke said disdainfully, glaring at him. Alex looked towards her as he surveyed the nymph-witch. "And since when did you get off of probation? I thought that you were still on the Elders' bad side after what happened to that one charge of yours."

"It's so nice to see that you haven't changed a bit, Brooke," Alex said, his tone calm, but his eyes had grown dangerous as he stared at Brooke, as though daring her to continue, but Brooke was far from done from attacking the Whitelighter.

"So the Elders just decided to bring Mr. Psycho-Whitelighter out of retirement just so he can get another one of his charges killed?" Brooke snapped. Wyatt frowned when she said that; what did she mean by that? "Wasn't it your irresponsibility with Vincent that got him to playing with more powerful magic that he was able to handle? And then he cast a spell that was way more powerful he was capable of performing, which ultimately killed him . . . all of which was under your supervision? Weren't you right there when he cast that spell, watching him?"

Candace went dead white as she looked towards Alex in shock. Chris stared at Brooke before looking towards Alex. Wyatt's mouth dropped open in surprise. Alex only stared down Brooke.

"People change, Murphy," he said quietly. "As I recall, it wasn't that long ago that you were head over heels for Ryan. Didn't take you too long to get over him, I see," he muttered, glancing sideways at Wyatt, who suddenly felt very uncomfortable to be in the room.

"That's different," Brooke said after a long moment. "I didn't get people that I was supposed to be taking care of killed. I didn't abandon my duty because I was sick and tired of being told what to do and took an innocent kid on a wild ride."

Alex stood up carefully. "I was sixteen," he replied quietly. "And who do you think you are to be questioning the Elders, Brooke? If They think that I'm ready to go back into the field again and start guiding witches, don't you think that you should trust Their judgement?"

"Right, because the Elders showed such great judgement when They hired an assassin to kill your cousins," Brooke said coldly.

Slamming his hand down onto the table, Alex glared at her with such cold fury that it made Wyatt move towards Brooke protectively. Cousin of Susan's or not, he wasn't going to take any chances. "You want to know something, Brooke Kathryn Murphy?" he hissed angrily. "I know how you feel about me. I've known about that for years. You've got no reason to trust me, but we are kind of on a time limit here, because we have no idea who is after these amulets or even what they are supposed to do. So could we possibly save this until _after_ this is over?"

Brooke's jaw stuck out stubbornly as she walked away from the table and headed into her room, slamming the door behind her. Wyatt frowned as he looked towards Alex, who took several calming breaths before speaking.

"Right," he said quietly, "so where were we at?"

"What's the story with you two, anyway?" Chris inquired, glancing up from the Book. Alex ignored him as he took Brooke's vacant seat and started skimming through the books as another series of orbs appeared.

"Hey, guys, we've got . . . . big trouble with demons," Brandon James announced, immediately spotting Alex and Candace. "Uh . . . Alex, hi, what are you doing here?" he wanted to know, placing his hands on his hips and staring at her curiously.

"Getting my cousin's help with my charge and stopping whoever or whatever is after the amulets," Alex replied, glancing at him. "I take it that the Elders sent you down here to warn them about this?"

"Kind of," Brandon admitted with a smile. Wyatt shook his head and Chris sighed. "Where is Susan at, anyway? And Brooke?"

"Brooke's in her room," Candace said helpfully. "And Susan said that she was going to check out a source, see if they knew anything."

"A source?" Wyatt echoed, frowning. "What source?" Then, looking at his brother, comprehension dawned upon him. "Oh, right," he said weakly. "Right. Bobby."

"Bobby," Chris agreed.

"Bobby," Brandon sighed.


	3. Armageddon

**Legacy: Pieces of Eight**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Three: Armageddon

Bobby watched his sister as she began reading the incantation from the paper that he'd brought, which would allow them access to the Oracles. Her blue eyes turned towards him, as though sensing his gaze and she gave him a crooked smile before returning her attention to what she was doing. "Okay, maybe this isn't such a good idea," he commented. "I know that it's our best bet, but . . . we're talking about the Powers That Be."

"Which means that they're either gonna tell us what we want to know or turn us both into frogs." Bobby couldn't help chuckled at the mental image that she'd prescribed and she smiled faintly, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear. "Either way, I've got the feeling that we're running low on options and time, so let's just get this over with."

"All right," Bobby sighed as they both turned to the portal that was beginning to open. "'We beseech access to the knowing ones.'" Looking towards his sister, he forced a smile. "I hope that I'm doing this right. Okay, from Mom told me about them, you just get in there, ask your questions, and get out. Don't wait, because they are unpredictable."

"Fine, no waiting," Susan muttered as the bright light of the portal began to open. "Am I the only one having a bad feeling about this? Because whenever portals happen to open, bad things happen. Look what almost happened the last time."

"Yeah, well, blame Brooke for that one," Bobby said, rolling his eyes as they walked into the portal, entering into a pure white room that looked like what Bobby imagined Up There would look like. In front of them were to ethereal beings, dressed in ancient Greek garments and had a sense of great power about them. "Uh . . . hi."

"This is for you," Susan said as she pulled out the vase that they'd stopped by the antique store and retrieved earlier. "A sixteenth century vase from Ireland." She tossed it to the female Oracle, who caught it easily and looked at it admiringly.

"It is beautiful," she commented with a nod towards her fellow Oracle. "Come before us, witches," she added, motioning for them to come further into the room. Bobby followed his sister's motions as they obeyed. "We know why you are here. Your father was here just moments before, to try and find where the two remaining guardians have been."

"The sons of the eldest Charmed One protect one, the other remains vulnerable," the brother said as they watched the two witches. "You wish to know how to find him?"

"Yes, but we also want to know what the amulets were created for," Susan answered, more boldly than she probably felt. Bobby could sense her nervousness just by looking at her. "Who created them, what they were used for and what they're gonna mean if all eight are joined together. Candace said that they were never meant to be brought together."

The Oracles looked at each other before returning their gazes to the two siblings. "There was a time, long ago, when the lands were ravaged by a demon that was summoned from beyond the earth, beyond your dimension and ours," the sister answered, not looking particularly worried about the dilemmas of humans. "He was very powerful and vengeful. His only goal was to rid the earth of humanity. I did not like him," she added scornfully. Her brother nodded in agreement.

"You met him?" Bobby asked in disbelief, forgetting for a moment that the Oracles were older than time itself. Older than man, older than demon, older than the universe. "Sorry."

"We met him," the brother said quietly. "But we did not involve ourselves in the trifles of lower beings. We watched as the humans fought against him, finally sending a great army to destroy him. He could not be killed, however, and finally eight witches banded together, using their magic to separate the demon into eight amulets. Each taking one, the witches separated, taking those amulets into a different part of the globe, never coming back together out of fear that someone would try and bring forth the demon known as the Avenger."

"And the guardians of the amulets . . . they're being killed so that somebody can get the amulets and bring them all together," Susan said slowly, looking around at Bobby fearfully.

"By Dad," Bobby whispered. "Dad's the one collecting the amulets, so he's got to be the one to do it."

The sister nodded. "He is killing the guardians, indeed," she acknowledged, "to restore the Avenger to his full power again. And when that happens," she said in a calm voice, "it will bring forth Armageddon." Silence met her words and Susan took a step back.

"And the last guardian?" she asked, her voice filled with determination. "Where can we find him?"

"You won't," the brother replied simply. "By the time that you get there, it will already be too late. All you have to do is to protect the guardian that you have already rescued and secure the amulet before they find out where its gone. Retrieve the other amulets and send them to a secure location. And remember this," he added, "no weapon forged in that time could destroy him."

"That's not promising," Susan grumbled as they were blasted from the white room, landing in a heap in the tunnels where they'd entered. "Okay, do they not know the meaning of 'goodbye'?" she inquired, pushing herself painfully up. "Let's not do that again."

"Well, we at least learned what the amulets are for and why Dad wants them," Bobby sighed as they started to climb up to the city levels. "We driving or orbing?"

Susan sighed. "Uh . . . Bobby, I hate to break this to you, but we are trying to stop your lunatic father from bringing forth a demon that could potentially bring an apocalypse with him," she said sarcastically. "We can get the car later. We can't get the world back if it ends."

"I was just asking."

--

Chris sighed as he glanced up at the clock. "They've been gone for nearly four hours," he commented, referring to Susan and undoubtedly Bobby. "Maybe somebody should go after them."

"Don't worry about Susan, she'll be fine," Brandon said with a shrug. "We just need to worry about finding the last guardian. The Elders said that she's cloaking herself from them and everybody else because of what's been happening."

Alex sighed as he paced back and forth across the apartment, glancing towards them. "You sure that Candace is going to be safe at Magic School?" he asked worriedly. "Because you know, we're taking a chance. We can't afford any more amulets to be taken, especially considering that we have absolutely no idea of what they do."

"I'm sure that once Susan gets back, we'll find out a whole lot more," Brandon told him calmly. "Bobby just probably took her someplace that's taking awhile to get the information that they need." He sighed as he glanced towards Brooke's closed door. "She's been in there awhile, maybe somebody should go talk to her."

There was a long pause until Wyatt finally stood up, about to head into his girlfriend's room when Brandon stopped him. "I meant somebody that understands what she's going through," Brandon said as he moved past Wyatt and walked into Brooke's room without knocking.

"She's my girlfriend," Wyatt grumbled as the door closed behind him, securely locking him out.

Brooke looked up the moment that Brandon walked inside and scowled up at him. "Do Whitelighters not understand a person's need to be alone?" she demanded. "I swear, you guys have no respect for privacy."

"Sorry, I was under the impression that you might actually need somebody to talk to," Brandon responded, smiling at her. Brooke rolled her eyes as she turned away from him, curling back up on the bed. Brandon sighed and walked over to her, sitting down next to her. "What's going on, Brooke?" he asked her, more kindly.

"Nothing."

"Brooke, I am not going to believe that," Brandon told her with a small laugh, shaking his head. She looked up at him in annoyance. "I've been around you for a couple of months and you've got that look that says volumes that something's bothering you. Is it Alex?"

"Maybe," she said vaguely. Brandon chose not to say anything as she leaned back against her headboard. "I just don't get why he's even a Whitelighter again. The Elders made it perfectly clear when he killed his charge that he wasn't going to be guiding any more witches or future Whitelighters. Why would They suddenly change Their minds?"

"Well, maybe They think that he needs this," Brandon said with a shrug. "Helping people can be a powerful antidote for rebellion, Brooke. And since he's gotten off of his probation, he has been sticking to the rules and has been doing a really good job with Candace and his other charges."

She shook her head, disgusted. "How could you have so much faith in him after what he did?"

"I've got my reasons," Brandon said with a mysterious smile. "Look, Brooke, you may be right and he isn't ready for this, but sitting in your room while we've got innocents and witches in danger and amulets that we have no idea what they do isn't going to help anybody. Not Alex, not the people you're meant to help, not even you."

Raising her brown eyes to him, Brooke made a small smile as she looked at him sideways, as though she were just now seeing him in a whole new light. "You supposed to be Susan's Whitelighter or mine?" she teased.

"At the very least, I hope I'm your friend," Brandon said without thinking. Brooke smiled at him.

"Yeah, you are," she whispered softly as they began to lean closer to one another. Brandon, not even thinking that she was somebody else's girl or that he was breaking a whole bunch of rules by doing this, had his lips barely touching hers when Brooke pulled away.

"What are we doing?" she whispered incredulously. "Wait a minute, what are _you_ doing?"

"I have absolutely no idea," Brandon said quickly, scrambling away from her and retreating a few steps, turning his back to her. "Oh, man. This is a really bad idea."

"Yeah, I'm glad we're both on the same page with that one," Brooke said, glaring at him furiously as she stood up, folding her arms across her chest. "Why were you trying to do that when my boyfriend is right out there, along with his brother and your charge's cousin? I mean, any one of them could have walked in at any second and caught us doing . . . whatever it was that we were just about to do!" Brooke was panicking by the end of this speech, but Brandon frowned at the end of her speech.

"So, the only problem that you had with that was that we could've been caught?" he asked slowly. Brooke stared at him, her face starting to heat up as she covered her mouth and sat down on the bed.

"Oh, gods," she whispered. "This isn't happening. I can't be doing this again, not after last time." Brandon felt his heart skip a beat as he looked away form her. "Okay, this is what we are going to do. We are going to go out there and find out what is going on and then later, we are going to talk about this calmly and rationally. Okay?"

Before Brandon could even respond, a knock came at the door rapidly and both of them jumped as the door opened, Susan peering around it quickly. "Hey, guys," she said, noticing their flushing faces almost immediately. "What's going in here? Everything okay?" She looked between her best friend and Whitelighter. "Brooke? Brandon? What's going on?"

"Uh . . . nothing," Brandon said, forcing a smile at his charge and hoped that if she didn't see through his lie, she wouldn't comment on it. They didn't need to deal with this right now. "It's nothing that can't wait. Did you find anything out from Bobby?"

"No, we actually went to go see the Oracles and boy, did we find out some stuff there," she said with a sigh, running her fingers through her hair as she looked between the two of them. "He's here, by the way, Bobby. And we should probably get out here, because we're gonna need to find a way to get the amulets back and get rid of them once and for all."

Brandon could sense her worry and see the fear all too clearly in her eyes. "How bad is it?" he wanted to know. He wasn't sure how much worse this day could possibly get.

Susan forced a smile at him and gave a small, weak laugh. "How about the end of the world?" she asked.


	4. All Guardians Down

**Legacy: Pieces of Eight**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Four: All Guardians Down

"You went and saw the Oracles?" Brandon asked incredulously as Susan finished recapping what she and Bobby had been doing. She nodded as Chris flipped through the Book, trying to find any reference to the Avenger guy that the Oracles had mentioned. "That's . . . okay, that's . . . what the heck were you thinking?" he demanded. "That was an extremely dangerous stunt to pull! Talking to the Oracles and trying to approach the Powers that Be, that's just—"

"Completely and totally risky, yeah, I know," Bobby told him, "but we didn't exactly have a lot of options here. We're running out of time."

"Enough, we're wasting time arguing," Susan said, holding up her hand to prevent any further debate between her Whitelighter and brother. She sighed, running her hand through her hair. "Okay, so the Oracles said that if we can prevent Peter from getting Candace's amulet, then they won't be able to resurrect this demon. But I vote that we find a way to stop him, because we're not going to be able to protect her forever. Eventually, she's going to have to go back to her life and we can't watch over her twenty-four/seven."

"Yeah, I agree," Chris said without looking up. "Besides, we need to have a plan just in case Connelly does manage to get to Candace and retrieve the amulet."

"Nice to see you're so optimistic, little brother," Wyatt said sarcastically. Chris looked up at him.

"Okay, first of all, leave the sarcasm to me, bro, because you fail at it miserably," he told him. "Second of all, I'm not being a pessimistic, I just think that we need to figure out what to do if something should go wrong. It's not crazy to look at door number two."

Wyatt rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say," he said with a sigh as Alex stood up, looking towards the ceiling quickly. So did Brandon. "Uh . . . what's up with you guys?"

"It's the Elders," Alex responded, giving Brandon a quick glance. "Uh . . . you stay here, I'll go see what They want." Without another word, he vanished in a series of orbs and Brandon sighed, running his hand through his hair as he sat back down, casting a quick glance towards Brooke as she shifted uncomfortably in her chair as he looked at her.

Susan frowned as she noticed this, wondering what it was exactly that she had walked in on after she and Bobby had gotten back from the Oracles. Something had happened in that room just before she'd walked in, even if they weren't saying. A suspicion crept into the back of her mind, but Susan pushed it down quickly, not wanting to go to that place. There was no way that Brooke would do that again, not after the last time.

At least she hoped that she wouldn't, because if she was wrong, then Wyatt's heart was going to get broken.

"Aha! Found him!" Chris announced, breaking her train of thought and she jumped up, hurrying over to look over his shoulder at the picture of the Avenger. "Okay, pretty much everything that we knew . . . demon from another dimension, an army went up against him . . . took eight witches to bring him down and separate him into eight amulets . . . no weapon forged can kill him."

"Yeah, but we already knew all of that stuff," Brooke complained as she flipped through the books for any mention of the demon. "There has got to be something that we're missing, something that we can think of that would kill him if he got resurrected."

"I really think that we should be looking for this last guardian," Bobby spoke up, startling them all. "Even though the Oracles said that we'd be too late, they're not all knowing, right? I mean, even the Powers that Be have to have their limits."

"Actually, I think that's what the Powers that Be are is all knowing," Susan told him weakly. "But you might have a point. Even if we can't save the last guardian, maybe there's something there that we can use to stop Peter from merging the amulets."

"Or even better," Chris said slowly as he looked at his girlfriend, "maybe there's a way to destroy Candace's amulet." She looked at him quickly. "That'd be a sure way to keep him from integrating the amulets and bringing forth the Avenger."

"Yeah, it would, but we have absolutely have no idea of how to find the last guardian," Wyatt pointed out. "I mean, scrying doesn't work, so what else are we going to try?"

"Candace might know," Brandon suggested. "I mean, she's a guardian, so she might have some idea—at least a general area—of where to find him. Maybe with a more focused area, we could pinpoint the location."  
"That's a good idea," Susan agreed, looking gratefully towards her Whitelighter. "So, where is Candace, anyway?" she asked, looking around and missing her cousin's charge.

"Magic School," Wyatt, Chris, and Brooke all answered and she nodded, realising that was the most obvious spot. Evil couldn't enter into those endless magical halls, so her being there was probably a whole lot safer than she was with them.

"All right, so then let's go off to Magic School," Susan said, taking Bobby's arm and orbing off with him, followed closely by Brandon, Chris, and Wyatt. Brooke went with Wyatt as they materialised into the library as Leo was talking with one of his teachers. Almost immediately, he noticed his sons entering into the building.

"Back so soon?" he asked as he walked towards them, a relieved look on his face. "I thought that it was going to take a whole lot longer to figure out what was going on with the amulets."

"Yeah, well, we're not exactly through with it yet," Wyatt explained. "We're kind of hoping that Candace might be able to tell us where to find the last guardian at, see if he might have some answers to how to destroy the amulets or something equally useful."

Leo nodded grimly. "Yeah, good idea. She's lying down in her dorm, this way," he said, leading the way through the endless halls until they reached one of the dorms. Susan had half-forgotten that Candace was a student here. He knocked on the door. "Candace? It's Leo, can I come in?" Susan frowned at the lack of answer, her precognition sense flaring up in high definition.

"Something's wrong," she said sharply. Leo looked at her and moved out of the way as Chris blasted the door apart, leaving it hanging on its side as they moved into the room, looking around at the darkened room. Susan reached for the light and turned it on.

The moment that the lights turned on, Brooke let out a scream at the sight of the battered, mutilated body that lay on the floor. Chris let out an exclamation. Wyatt whispered a swearword. Leo's eyes went wide with shock. Bobby had frozen, his face pale as he stared at the body. Susan, who had suspected something of this before Chris had blasted the door down, slowly moved towards Candace, kneeling down beside her and touching the body. It was cold.

"Something isn't right," she whispered. "She's cold. She's been here for several days like this. Something got her before . . ." Susan stopped in mid-sentence as she raised her head towards Bobby. "Before we found her," she finished slowly.

Wyatt was the first to recover from seeing the body like that. "So . . . if it wasn't Candace, then who was with us when we were looking for the amulet?"

Susan couldn't answer, because her attention had been drawn to Bobby, who had suddenly pulled away from the group, clutching his stomach as he staggered away. "Bobby!" she exclaimed, hurrying towards her brother as he doubled over and threw up onto the rug.

Taking him into her arms as he threw up what was left in his stomach, Susan held him as he collapsed into her arms, pale and clammy, rubbing circles around his back like her mother used to when she was little, whispering comforting words to him as he clung to her.

"She's been sitting like that," Bobby whispered as he rocked back and forth, "for days? Without anybody knowing about it or . . ." He shook his head as Susan shushed him, running her fingers through his hair and holding him gently to her.

"What I'm worried about," Chris said slowly, "is who could get into Magic School and kill Candace without anybody knowing about it? I thought that evil couldn't get into the halls." Susan had to admit that he had a point, but she was more worried about her brother. Not to mention, whether or not Peter had Candace's amulet.

"Check the body," she said softly, "somebody, see if she still has the amulet." Wyatt moved over and bent over the body, checking it carefully as she returned her attention to her brother. "Easy, buddy, it's okay," she whispered as Bobby clung to her, laying his head into her chest as she enveloped him in a tight hug. "It's okay."

"It's not here," Wyatt said quietly. "Which means that whoever was impersonating Candace has the amulet."

"Okay, we need to come up with a plan and fast," Brandon said as he looked around at the others. "Anybody got any ideas, because we're running out of time really fast."

"This is what we're going to do," Susan said as she held Bobby. "Chris and Wyatt, you guys go to the Connelly Manor and see how close they are to reassembling the Avenger. Brooke, you go back to the apartment and find something—anything—to stop this guy if he's gonna get released. Brandon, go find my cousin and give him the updates. While you're Up There, talk to the Elders, find out everything that They know about the amulets and where to find the last guardian. And tell them that I'm not taking no for an answer. If They don't work with me on this, then I am going to go Up There and—"

"I think I can give Them the message," Brandon said hastily as he orbed out. Brooke looked at Susan.

"What are you going to do?"

"Gonna go pay a visit to an old friend," Susan said quietly.

--

Pushing open the door to the bar that she had occasionally gone to during her visits down here in San Francisco to look at colleges with her mother and brother, Susan looked around at the various species that occupied it, none of them looking up as the young witchlighter crossed over to the bartender, who was serving a customer.

"Don't worry, it's my special blend, made it especially for you, darling," he was saying as Susan walked up. The female demon gave her a glance and sniffed at her suspiciously.

"Witch," she hissed dangerously and about half a dozen heads turned in her direction. "Come to kill us lower beings? You won't make it to the door."

"Oh, please," Susan grumbled. "Can't a girl just go into a bar without having any trouble? If I wanted to vanquish you, then I wouldn't be so idiotic to come along. I'm not giving you any trouble . . . yet," she added more quietly, staring down the demon. She gave Susan one last scowl before she moved away from the bar. Susan sighed as she looked towards the bartender. "Hey, Evan," she said as the bartender looked around.

"Whoa . . . if it isn't little Susan Dawson," he said with a weak laugh, cleaning a glass more thoroughly than needed as his eyes darted around, looking for an escape route. "What, uh . . . what brings you down to these parts of town?"

"Information, need it fast and I'm not accepting no for an answer," she said, looking at the bartender straight in the eye. He gulped and lowered his gaze as she placed both hands on the bar, her fingers starting to crackle with electricity. Evan cast a quick glance at them and slowly looked back up, meeting her blue eyes evenly. Susan Dawson was probably one of the most even-tempered people who existed, but when she did get mad, things tended to explode. And the last time it happened, Evan had to rebuilt the entire bar, much to his displeasure.

Jerking his head, Evan moved towards the back and Susan followed, keeping an eye out for traps. Evan might be informative when it came to otherworldly things, but he had no loyalty to good or evil. He would give information to whoever would pay him the most—or would cost less for him.

"Okay, so what kind of information are we talking about?" Evan finally asked when they were out of view.

"Peter Connelly is collecting amulets to reassemble a demon known as the Avenger," Susan replied. "I need to find the last guardian and fast otherwise he's a goner as much as the rest of them." She crossed her arms as Evan frowned at her words.

"Not a whole lot to go on there, sweetheart."

"Don't call me sweetheart," Susan said warningly, giving him an evil eye. "And besides, you and I both know that you've got all the information in that thick head of yours. Want me to see how long it takes for you to start talking with lightning going through you?" she threatened, blue eyes blazing.

Evan winced. "All right, all right! Look, then thing about the Avenger and these amulets is . . . there's no guardians left to find. The girl at Magic School, Candace, she was killed a couple days ago? She was the last one. Haven't you heard about her?"

"She was only found a couple of hours ago," Susan said, closing her eyes painfully as she remembered Candace lying there helplessly. Bobby was still recovering from the affects of seeing a dead girl there; apparently, he had never actually seen a dead human before. He was staying with Leo at Magic School while they figured everything out. "And what do you mean, she was the last one? There should be another one . . . unless—"

"They got him, over a week ago," Evan said with a shrug. "The Avenger . . . they should be assembling him any time now." Susan spun around as two demons approached her from behind, with two more behind Evan and four on either side of them. "Your friends, the Halliwells? Yeah, they're probably heading into a trap right now. It's too bad you're not gonna have the chance to tell anybody about it."

"Big mistake, Evan," Susan growled as she released the electricity, not bothering to miss any of the objects in the back that made Evan's bar working and running. "I would've thought you learned your lesson the last time. And by the way?" she added as she finished vanquishing the last demon. "Don't try lackey demons again. It just costs you more."

Without another word, she left the bar, closing the door behind her as she hurried to the Connelly Manor, praying that she wasn't too late.


	5. A Dicey Plan

**Legacy: Pieces of Eight**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Five: A Dicey Plan

Chris ducked inside of the Connelly Manor with his brother, peering around to see if there was anybody nearby. The area was completely deserted, to his relief, but it also came with the suspicion that there was something going on around the place. "Okay, all clear," he said quietly as Wyatt came inside behind him and the brothers headed through the hallways to find out where everybody was at.

"Did you notice anything going on?" Chris glanced sideways at Wyatt, who had a perturbed look on his face. "I mean, earlier . . . there was definitely some weird vibes going on, right? That wasn't just me." Wyatt was looking disturbed as he looked towards him. "You noticed it, right? I mean, that was definitely strange . . ."

Almost instantly, Chris's thoughts jumped to Bobby and Susan, there in Magic School with him clinging to her like a kid needing his big sister. Had Wyatt figured out the secret that he and Susan were hiding from everybody else? he thought. If he had, there was no way that he could keep it from his brother. He and Susan had made an agreement that if someone asked about it, then they weren't gonna lie about it.

"Listen, Wy . . . the whole thing about Susan is—" he began, but stopped when Wyatt looked up at him, a confused look crossing his face as Chris said the words.

"Susan? What are you talking about?" he asked, bewildered. "I was talking about Brandon and Brooke." Chris frowned slightly at him, wracking his brains to the apartment. "There was something going on with them earlier, Chris, I could see it." He scowled. "I _knew_ I should've have left him alone in the bedroom with her."

Chris shook his head, his shoulders relaxing now that they were moving away from the tenser subject. "Wyatt, I really don't think that Brooke would do something like that," he assured his brother.

"She did it once, remember?" Wyatt muttered angrily. "To Susan's brother, while they were engaged." He shook his head. "Maybe I'm overreacting, but if she did it once, then she might very well do it again. Leopards don't change their dots."

"Spots," Chris corrected automatically and Wyatt glanced at him. "The expression is 'leopards don't change their spots.'" His brother rolled his eyes as he heaved a sigh.

"The point is that if she it once, then she could very well do it again. I mean, it wouldn't be the first time that a witch has gone after their Whitelighter," he mumbled, looking downcast.

"You really like her, don't you?" Chris remarked, shaking his head. "Wy, if you like her so much, then you know what you have to do, right?"

"What's that?"

"Trust her," Chris pointed out. Wyatt made a face. "There's absolutely no point in a relationship without trust. I mean, it was hard for Susan to put trust in a relationship when I met her, but she was in a really vulnerable state then. She still is, as a matter of fact, even though it's not as bad as it was."

Wyatt made a face at him and shook his head. "So, basically, all you've got for me is that I should shove aside the sinking feeling that I've got that something's going on and just trust Brooke to do the right thing?" he demanded and Chris nodded. "And if that doesn't work?"

"Well, then . . . do the other thing that makes relationships work," Chris replied with a grin. "Talk to her. Now shut up, I can hear something up there," he added, nodding ahead of them. Wyatt shut up as they headed into a balcony, overlook on entourage of demons, Peter Connelly, and the woman that Susan said was his wife Deidre. And they were all standing around a table that had six amulets on it, each glowing a different colour.

"Good, they've still got one amulets to get," Wyatt whispered as he looked down at them. "Which means that the last guardian might still be alive."

But Chris was starting to get a funny feeling as he peered down at the party below them. Something wasn't right, he thought as his eye caught a familiar girl walking through the crowd. A girl who they'd seen dead less than an hour ago at Magic School.

"Candace," Wyatt breathed.

"Just someone that looks like her," Chris murmured as he watched her step onto the platform, her long blonde hair sweeping her shoulders as she gave a smirk towards Peter and pulled something out of her pocket.

"Here it is, Master," she said, handing it over to Peter. "The last amulets . . . those stupid witches never knew what hit them. They still have no idea how close we are."

Peter smiled with amusement. "Very good, my dear, very good," he said as he took the amulet. "It is time."

Wyatt released a swearword under his breath as Chris's eyes widened, realising what was about to happen. "We have to stop them," he whispered just as Deidre's eyes lifted up and met Chris's. Her mouth opened slightly in surprise and she cast a quick glance around as she moved away from the group, getting as close to the balcony as she could.

"Get out of here, the both of you," she breathed, without moving her lips, but making sure that they heard her. "There's nothing you can do here right now. You stay here, you die." Chris's blood froze at her words. "Believe me, there maybe be a way to stop him, but not this. There's too many demons here even without an unvanquishable demon being resurrected. Leave here and get yourselves out."

"And risk letting lose a demon that's only goal is to end humanity?" Chris hissed at her. She made no movement. "Do you even care anymore?"

"I care," she whispered, "more than you know, but now is not the time, Christopher Halliwell. Not now . . . but soon." She looked at him now, pleading in her eyes. "The time is not yet. Your destinies will all become revealed very soon and this is not it. You can stop him, all five of you. But—"

"What's going on over there, woman?" Peter had noticed her absence and his gaze travelled up to find the two brothers hiding on the balcony and his smile broadened and he chuckled. "Well, what do you know? We seem to have two unexpected guests, ladies and gentlemen," he announced. "Get them. I want them to have the box seats for this."

_This is not going to go well,_ Chris thought as demons charged after him and Wyatt.

--

Brooke moved her hand over her eyes tiredly as she flipped through the books at Magic School, shaking her head as she found yet another entry on the Avenger that didn't really tell her anything different than they already knew. Slamming it shut, Brooke blushed as a few students that were in the vicinity stared at her. "Sorry," she whispered, seizing another book.

"Not finding anything?" Brandon appeared next to her and she jumped, nearly falling out of her chair. When she recovered, she glared at him and he grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you like that. I thought you heard me."

"No, I didn't," Brooke grumbled as she ran her fingers through her hair as she flipped through the books. "I don't know what Susan expects me to find. I mean, this guy is basically invincible. Nobody could take this guy down the last time that he was released. Why should this time be any different?"

"Well, because we have something this time that they didn't back then," Brandon answered.

"Yeah? What might that be?"

Brandon smiled reassuringly at her. "You," he replied. Brooke blushed and he smiled. "And Susan and Chris and Wyatt. The four of you can take this thing, can take whatever is thrown at you guys. And Bobby . . . well, with you guys helping him, I think he's gonna do pretty well. How's he doing, anyway?" he added as he cast a glance over at the sleeping Bobby on the sofa that was in the library.

"He's still a little shocked," Brooke admitted. "And I can kind of see where he's coming from. We see dead demons all the time, but it's not the same as when you see a human being like that. Dead and cold and mutilated. It's completely different," she whispered as she looked back down at the book. She couldn't ignore the look that Brandon was fixing her with, filled with longing and affection and passion that she hadn't felt in a long time. Not since . . . well, not since Ryan.

She was starting to grow to care a lot about Wyatt, she really was, but there was something missing that had been in her relationship with Ryan. It was something that she couldn't explain, but it was missing with Wyatt. Brooke wished it was there, wished that she could figure out what it was so she could propel it into their relationship, but . . . well, she was starting to get the feeling that it wasn't something that could be propelled. It was either there or it wasn't.

"Brooke? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, flipping through the books again. "If you count us being at a loss with a demon that can . . . oh, here's something new," she complained, finding an entry on the Avenger. "He can apparently turn you into ashes with a single touch. Oh, this is getting way too complicated. I need a break," she said, standing up.

"I'll keep looking," Brandon told her as he sat down. "Go get yourself a drink or something."

Brooke sighed as she left the library and Brandon watched her go, the longing in his heart continuing to grow as the one woman he had ever truly loved disappeared. He shook his head as he looked down at the book, not really seeing it as he was too absorbed in his thoughts.

"You still love her, don't you?" Brandon glanced up at Bobby as the young witch sat up, looking straight at him worriedly. "Brooke. You're still in love with her."

"It's not exactly easy to fall in and out of love, especially considering the circumstances," Brandon admitted as he draw another book towards him, looking through it to find anything on the Avenger that would be even remotely helpful. "Are you okay?"

"I'll live," Bobby mumbled, shaking his head to clear it. "Uh . . . where's everybody else?" His eyes scanned the library, as though expecting Susan, Chris, and Wyatt to pop out of nowhere.

"Susan's checking out a source and Wyatt and Chris are down at the Manor doing recon, see how far they are to getting all eight of the amulets," Brandon answered. "If you're okay, you wanna come help me do some research, find any new information on this guy?"

"Thought it all said the same thing," Bobby said with a grin, telling Brandon that he'd been awake for most of the conversation with Brooke. Still, he stood up and joined him at the table, looking through some books. "Okay, if this guy gets assembled, then what? How are we gonna kill a guy that's not supposed to be killed?"

"I don't know," Brandon sighed. "Magic apparently only feeds it, so using our powers on him, I'd say that's a big no-no. And no weapon can kill him, so swords . . . crossbows . . . stakes . . . that's all out too. Hopefully somebody's gonna find something out, because we're running out of ammunition and we're running out of time."

Bobby shook his head as he flipped through the book before he frowned at the words. "No weapon forged can kill him," he mumbled and a look cross his face, something that Brandon noticed.

"What? What'd you figure out?"

"Wait a minute . . . the Oracles said that, too, that no weapon forged could kill him," he said slowly, a look of comprehension and relief crossing his face. Brandon didn't understand; why would he be relieved at the fact that this guy was unkillable?  
"So what? We're happy because we're gonna die?"

"No, the Oracles made a point of saying that," Bobby told him. "Which means that there's something about that . . . in that time. They said 'no weapon forged in that time can kill him' . . . what about in this time? Some weapon that they didn't have back then? Would that kill him?"

Brandon stared at him. "Actually, that might be worth a shot. But what weapon is gonna be strong enough to take this guy down? I don't exactly have a lot of experience in modern day weapons."

"A rocket launcher," Bobby answered with a shrug. Brandon shook his head. "And I know where we can get one. Come on, we need to go now if we're gonna do this, because you and I both know that Susan's gonna say no when she hears this plan."

"We've got bigger problems," Brooke announced, appearing in the doorway. She looked panicked. "I just got a call from Susan. The Avenger's being resurrected as we speak . . . and Chris and Wyatt are headed into a trap. What's the plan?" she asked, looking between them.


	6. Destroying the Avenger

**Legacy: Pieces of Eight**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Six: Destroying the Avenger

Susan slowly pushed open the door to the Connelly mansion, keeping a close eye out to see if there was anybody around to see her slipping into the house of her father. She had only been in the house once before, rescuing Brandon after he'd been tortured half to death—or more to death, she guessed, considering he was already dead. The point being, she wasn't too big a fan of the house and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Orbing probably would've been faster, especially to rescue Chris and Wyatt, but she had a feeling that they probably had orbing detectors in the house.

Slipping into the house, Susan looked around cautiously, keeping a close watch out as well as throwing out her precognition senses as far as they would allow, walking through the long hallways and extended corridors, searching for her boyfriend and friend. And if Evan's information was correct—which it usually was—then either the Avenger was here or pretty close to being here. And Peter probably had the brothers on the menu for his coming out party. Susan quickened her pace just as a blonde woman rounded the corner, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw the brunette witch.

Stopping where she was, Susan flexed her fingers, electricity starting to appear from her fingertips as she stared the woman down, knowing exactly who she was. Deidre Moore, Bobby's mother, Peter's wife, and Susan and Ryan's stepmother.

And there was no telling which side of Deidre she was going to see. From what Bobby had told her, Deidre was under a spell that caused her to be under complete submission to her husband. But there were times when she was able to escape the spell and she was able to be herself, though if she didn't obey her husband, he would strengthen the spell and she would be lost again. So the question remained, which side of Deidre would she see? The ruthless assassin under control of Peter Connelly? The helpless mother who struggled to save her son? Or would she see something else? Someone that her own mother had known a long time ago.

Deidre stared at her for a long moment, then she spoke in a shaky voice that was anything but surprised. "Susan Dawson," she said quietly. Susan swallowed, but nodded. "I had the feeling you would come, after what happened to your friends. I've been expecting you. Don't worry," she added with a small smile, "I'm not here to deliver you to my husband." She paused, still studying Susan carefully. "I'm Deidre Connelly."

"Moore, as was," Susan said softly, watching her carefully. "I know who you are. You're Bobby's mom."

With a nod, Deidre glanced behind them, as if she heard something, before looking back at her. "You are the image of your mother," she said finally. "Celandine. You look so much like her."

"Yeah, I've been told." Susan would've liked to have had a conversation with her stepmother, to try and get some information about her and her mother's past, but now was not the time. "Listen, I don't have time for this, I've got to go find—"

"Chris and Wyatt," Deidre finished up for her. "I know. And you're right, now is not the time. The Avenger will soon awaken and then everything that we know and cherish will turn to dust. Come," she said, waving her hand over her shoulder as she led the young witchlighter through the mansion. "I will help you save them, my dear. And then I need you to help me with something."

"Oh, yeah?" Susan eyed her carefully, still not entirely sure that she should be following this woman. "And what, may I ask, am I going to be helping you with?"

Turning around so fast that Susan was caught off guard, Deidre stared her directly in the eyes. "Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answer?" she whispered in a calm, flat voice.

Susan wet her lips once as she took a step back. "Bobby," she answered finally when the answer hit her. "You want me to get him away from here."

"I don't expect you to do it immediately," Deidre said softly as she continued to lead her. "He is a stubborn boy and wants to get me away from here as well. But I think you understand what he doesn't, don't you?" She looked at the witchlighter, who lowered her gaze.

"If he doesn't get away from here soon, he'll never be able to escape," Susan whispered. "Peter's gonna catch him in his web and spin him around it so tightly that he won't be able to break free." Deidre nodded mutely. "Oh, gods, help me . . . he won't leave here, he's afraid that—"

"A time will come when you will be able to act," Deidre said solemnly, "and when the time comes, answers will be found, but not all. Not all," she added more forcibly. "It will be a long time before you find the answers to the questions you ask. Look to your roots for the answers, Susan, when you are ready. She smiled at Susan's baffled expression. "I know you don't understand this now, but you will. You will," she added as they entered onto a balcony and she pushed Susan down to avoid being seen by the party guests. Susan gripped the railings as she peered through them, uttering a small gasp when she saw both Chris and Wyatt.

Both of them looked like they'd been through a fight that was greatly outnumbered. And judging from the amount of demons that were sweeping through below, that was probably exactly what _had _happened. Chris was trying to find a way through his chains as his green eyes flew towards where Deidre stood and then travelled to meet Susan's blue eyes.

She placed a finger to her lips, telling him to keep quiet, and he gave a small nod, glancing towards Wyatt. Years of experience with Brooke told her that they were using telepathy to talk to one another, so none of the demons would know that they were communicating.

Turning her attention to where Peter was standing above an alter, Susan sucked in her breath as she saw the amulets that were lying on the table. One green, one red, one blue, one yellow, one indigo, one silver, one purple, and one pink all glittered as they lay around the table.

"Now, my friends," Peter was saying as he moved around the table, picking up a weathered paper, "we can finally restore the demon that can help us bring order to the Earth. And we are just missing one final ingredient." He smiled shortly as he pulled a knife out of his pocket and slit his palm open. Blood trickled down onto the alter, which exploded in light as the amulets rose into the air, zooming into the very centre of it, where a brilliant light had appeared.

All eight of the amulets disappeared into the light and Susan had to shield her eyes away from the sight as a mixture of the amulets' brilliant glow and blood and the light all swirled together, making a mixture of colours that made her dizzy to stare into. An inhumane roar exploded from the portal and something rose from it, something that was beyond human or demon. The very sight made Susan cringe as she moved back. Even Deidre looked paler as she saw the demon that appeared.

The Avenger had been awakened.

--

Bobby opened the door as he took a look around at the mansion to make sure that it was clear before motioning to Brandon and Brooke, who carried the destructive weapon that they'd swiped before orbing to the mansion. "You're sure that this is going to work, right?" Brooke asked as they hurried through the mansion as fast as they were able.

"Definitely," Bobby said quietly. "The Oracles don't give hints like that unless they mean something." Brandon nodded in agreement. "They'll be meeting in the conservatory, which is straight down that hall. I'm gonna go see if I can find Susan and the others."

"Okay, be careful," Brandon warned him as he headed off into another direction, leaving him with Brooke. She didn't look enthusiastic about this, but she overlooked it due to the situation. "You all right?"

"I've got it," she assured him as she hoisted the weapon higher. "Come on, let's go get this over with. I want this day over with."

"Couldn't agree more," Brandon said with a sigh as they carried the weapon through the corridor. When they reached the conservatory, however, they found that the brothers were being held captured while Peter was with the Avenger, awakened, and it was seconds away from killing the both of them.

"HEY!"

Brandon glanced up as his charge launched off of the balcony, landing on the banquet table. "That's not very nice," she commented towards the Avenger. She shot a lightning bolt towards him, which he batted away like a fly, his attention now fixed on Susan, who looked slightly nervous now. Lightning appeared to be completely useless against him and that was the strongest power that she had with her weather manipulation. "Care to have a little race, big guy? Come on, care to catch me?"

"Ignore her, it's a distraction!" Peter yelled at the Avenger. "The two witches, get the two witches! They're more powerful than she is! Those two are the sons of the Charmed Ones!"

"Also a powerful witch, she is," the Avenger countered as he stretched out a hand towards Susan as she darted away, leading him away from the brothers. "And she will be the first to die."

"Oh, no, you don't!" Chris yelled, flicking his wrists towards the Avenger, sending him off of his feet. "Get away from her!" With adrenaline surging through him, he yanked the chains off of the hooks, hurdling towards the demon, who knocked him to the ground.

"Chris!" Susan yelled, abandoning her getaway from the demon as she saw him fall. Brandon swallowed as she raced back towards her boyfriend, silently cursing her.

"Well, well, well, this is certainly interesting," the Avenger said with a small laugh. "A Warren and a Cromwell in love? Now I have seen everything."

"Not quite," Brooke snapped as she and Brandon made their appearance.

The Avenger, laughing now, turned to face the duo as Brandon lifted the rocket launcher up, aiming it directly towards the demon as he turned it on, glaring at him. "Oh, are we going to play a game now, witches? You don't expect me to lie down and give up, do you?"

"Yes, I believe you people seem to be forgetting that no weapon forged can kill him," Peter observed.

"That was then," Brooke countered, "and this is now." She nodded to Brandon, who pulled the trigger as she sent a silent message to Susan, who had seen the weapon and her eyes went wide.

Susan whispered something to Chris and he orbed to Wyatt, who had managed to get out of the chains, while she orbed away. Out of the corner of his eye, Brandon saw her get to Bobby and rush him to safety as Brandon pulled the trigger.

If anybody was in the vicinity of Connelly mansion, they probably would've called the cops. But thankfully, it was in the middle of a large yard and the nearest neighbour was about a hundred yards away, so they heard nothing, only felt a small shudder on the earth's surface, which wasn't unusual for California.

When the explosion cleared, Brandon saw that there wasn't nothing left of the demon but the eight amulets, which were blackened, damaged, and destroyed. Susan stood up from where she'd been hiding with Bobby, away from the danger, and walked over to them, her gaze on the ruined amulets.

"Is that it?" Brooke asked.

"I don't want to take any chances," Susan said flatly. "Let's get what's left and put it somewhere safe."

"Sounds like a good plan," Chris agreed as they walked over to the mess. Peter Connelly, seeing that he had been thwarted once again, had fled the moment that the rocket launcher was fired, as had most of the party guests. "Is everybody okay?"

Everybody murmured conformities as they gathered up the pieces of the Avenger to be separated and hidden from human sight, hopefully never to be found again.

Susan glanced towards her brother as he stayed far enough away from them so not to arouse suspicion if their father decided to make a re-appearance. He gave her a small smile of appreciation as he slowly melted into the shadows, disappearing from view as her gaze travelled upwards to where Deidre was standing.

Her mouth moved into a curve of a smile and she gave Susan a small nod of approval before she turned and walked away. And even as they headed away from the mansion, Susan knew that she hadn't seen the last of her stepmother. Their paths would cross again and deep in her heart, Susan knew that Deidre was right.

If she didn't find a way to save Bobby, then he would sooner or later become her enemy. And then she would lose another brother . . . this time to evil. Susan knew if that happened . . . she wouldn't be able to live with herself. It would be a fate worse than death.

_I love you, little brother,_ she thought as she stared to the place where Bobby lived and had grown up. _And I always will. And I'm gonna save you._


	7. Kiss of Betrayal

**Legacy: Pieces of Eight**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Seven: Kiss of Betrayal

Susan walked her cousin down to his motorcycle as twilight began to appear on the horizon, her thoughts on everything that had happened since Alex had come to town. Either Alex was thinking the same thing or he happened to notice her musings, because he commented, "Wacky day, huh? World almost ended. How many apocalypses have you managed to avert, anyway?"

With a small laugh, Susan thought about it carefully. "Well . . . counting this one, at least four. Not counting that whole charade with the kid that was trying to get his girlfriend back," she added, wistfully remembering the battle against evil in Wisconsin. Things might be better here, but they were easier back there. Ever since she'd come here, things had been complicated. The appearance of a brother she never knew, the fact her father was plotting to kill her. . . . Sometimes, Susan missed the simplicity of the fighting.

Looking up at her cousin, she wrapped her arm around his as they climbed down the steps of the apartment building. "Hey," she said, "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to spend much time with you."

Alex grinned. "Another time," he promised, though she could tell that some seriousness was weighing him down. The loss of a second charge after only being on parole for a couple of months had hit him hard and Susan could tell just by looking at her cousin.

"I'm sorry that we weren't able to save Candace," she apologised, but Alex waved her apology away. She knew in her heart that there hadn't been anything that could've been done differently. They had all been tricked and by the time that they'd been alerted that anything was happening, Candace had already been dead, but she still felt guilty for not being able to help her cousin and his charge. "I wish we could've done something different."

"We can't change the past," Alex said after a long moment. "No matter how much we want to, sometimes things would turn out worse." Susan knew he meant with Ryan as much as he meant Candace. If things had turned out differently, then Ryan might be alive, but things might be worse off.

"Doesn't make it hurt any less," she pointed out softly as they arrived at his motorcycle and he climbed onto it, pulling on the helmet. "You going back to Wisconsin or you heading out somewhere else?"

Alex paused as he looked up at her. "I think I need to get out of here for awhile, Sue," he told her slowly. "I'm no good as a Whitelighter. Just end up getting people killed."

"It wasn't your fault," Susan offered. "If I'm not to blame for what happened to Candace then neither are you, cousin." He glanced at her as she sat down next to him on the bike, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You couldn't have done anything differently. But I understand the needing to get away part." She shrugged. "It's part of the reason why I left Chippewa Falls."

"Yeah," Alex sighed as he stood up, hugging her tightly. Susan held her cousin, knowing that this could very well be the last time she saw him for awhile. "Susan . . . who's that Bobby kid? There's something familiar about that kid that I just can't place . . ."

Susan had expected the subject of her brother to come up sooner or later before her cousin left. "Alex . . . I want to tell you who he is, I do, but . . . I can't, all right? It's too dangerous for people to know the truth about him. Even he doesn't know that I know. All I can tell you is that he is a good person and a good witch, despite his background."

Although Alex looked annoyed at the lack of information, he nodded in acceptance. "All right, I'll trust you on this one for now," he sighed. Susan smiled at him gratefully before she stood up. "But if you ever need some help, then you know I'll come running, right?"

"Yeah, I know." She chuckled as a certain thought occurred to her. "Although, now that I think about it, I think that two Dawsons might be overkill."

"Nope." Alex shook his head, grinning wildly. "On the contrary, dear cousin. It's just about enough kill." Susan laughed out loud at that and he joined in. When their laughter subsided, he looked at her for a long moment before climbing onto the bike, buckling the helmet and pulling down the shield. "Take care, Susan."

"You, too," she told him as she backed up, away from her cousin as he started up the motorcycle.

He took one last look at her as he gunned the motor and pushed himself off, riding off onto the horizon and leaving his cousin standing at the bottom of the steps, watching him leave.

With a small sigh, Susan turned around and headed back up the steps, intending to get some much-needed rest as she opened her apartment door. She could hear voices in Brooke's bedroom and she walked towards it, wondering if her best friend was all right and who was in her room. Wyatt was either at his own apartment or working at the clinic and Chris was definitely getting some rest. She'd left him sound asleep in his bedroom before going to see her cousin off.

Easing open the door, she was about to ask Brooke if everything was okay when an astonishing scene met her eyes and a gasp left her mouth before she could comprehend what was happening.

--

Brooke walked into her room to change clothes after they got back from destroying the Avenger. "Gotta love those apocalypses," she mumbled as she started to unbutton her shirt just as the door opened.

Spinning around, she found Brandon standing behind her and she sighed, redoing the button and folded her arms across her chest. "Don't you Whitelighters ever knock?"

"Some do, I don't," Brandon said with a grin. At her stony expression, the smile slowly slid from his face and he closed the door behind him. "Well, uh . . . the Elders are gonna take the destroyed amulets, put them in a safe place so that the Avenger never gets resurrected."

"That's good," Brooke commented dismissively. "Now, if you don't mind, I've had a really hard day and I would really like to get some sleep." She turned away from him, but he didn't leave. "That was indirectly telling you to get out of my room, Brandon."

"I know. I caught that, but . . ." He paused. "Brooke, I . . . I really think we need to talk about what happened before."

Suppressing a sigh, Brooke walked away from him and started flipping through her CDs absently. She needed to get rid of some of these. Half of them she hadn't listened to since she was fourteen. "Do we?" she commented, trying to concentrate on the CDs so not to pay attention to what he was saying. It was a lame attempt, but it was all she had.

"Look, what happened . . . there's a logical explanation for it," Brandon said hastily. "There's some stuff about me that you don't know . . . things that I've been sworn not to say until it's time."

"I don't care." Brooke wasn't even bothering to try and look at the CDs anymore. She stared at Brandon. "You think that we don't know that you're hiding stuff? Please! Susan and I have known since you've shown up that you're not telling us everything that we need to know. Okay, we know that. And about the other thing, nothing happened, so there is absolutely no reason that we need to discuss or even continue to even think about what nearly happened. It didn't happen, we don't need to discuss it, we're both moving on." She turned away from him.

"Is that what you want?"

Brooke's hands froze as she was about to go through the CDs again, but she said nothing. Brandon walked over to her and gently turned her around so that she was facing him.

"Is that what you want, Brooke?" Brandon asked again. "Do you want me to just forget about what happened because you didn't feel anything? Or do you just want to forget because you're afraid of what _might _happen?"

Swallowing, Brooke pulled away from him. "What does it matter?" she demanded, her voice shaking. "I'm not your girlfriend, Brandon! I'm not even your charge!"

Brandon shifted slightly. "That's not entirely true," he said after a long moment. Brooke stared at him. "I care about you, Brooke Murphy, a lot and if you knew everything about me, you'd know that means a lot. But you don't know why I have to keep secrets, because it's going to cause a whole lot of problems if I don't."

"But what—"

"Brooke," Brandon said softly as he reached out and touched her dark hair tenderly. Something about the feel of his hands on her face felt familiar, Brooke thought, and something clicked in the back of her mind, though she didn't realise it until a moment later. "There are some things that you need to know about me. But if . . . if Susan ever found out . . . she can't, okay? She can never find out . . ."

"I—"

Before the two of them knew what was happening, they were swept up by the passion that was slowly forming between them and Brandon moved forward, his lips capturing hers in a tender but gentle kiss. But it was a kiss that Brooke knew, that she had missed every day for over eight months, that she knew with every fibre of her being.

When they broke apart, she stared at him with wide eyes and he smiled, knowing that she knew now. "No telling?" he questioned.

"No telling," Brooke breathed, an exhilarated joy filling through her as she leaped into his arms, kissing him with a fiery passion that she had long forgotten she held inside her. A passion that had been burnt out ever since the death of the man she loved eight months previously but with one kiss, it was reawakened and burned more brightly than ever.

But neither one of them had any idea that while they were kissing, the door had opened and a small gasp emerged from a brunette witchlighter as she stared at her Whitelighter and best friend while they were kissing, holding on to each other as though their lives depended on it.

Susan couldn't believe her eyes as she stared at them. Brooke had done a great many things she wasn't proud of, Susan knew that better than anybody, but after the whole incident with her and Ryan and whoever she'd cheated on him with, she had never expected that she would do the same thing twice.

But what was worse was that Susan was now stuck in the middle once again. It was her best friend who was doing this and she was betraying her boyfriend's brother, who she was now regarding with a sisterly devotion. And she hated Brooke for putting her in the middle like this.

She was relieved more than she could say that the brothers hadn't gone with them to their apartment. It at least gave her some time to think about what she had just seen. "What to do?" she whispered softly, but the stars gave her no reply.

--Fade to Black--

End Credits

Guest stars:

Drew Berrymore as Deidre Connelly

Jack Devonport as Peter Connelly

Nate Richert as Alex Dawson

Francia Raisa as Candace

and Brian Krause as Leo Wyatt


End file.
